By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
It was upset city in Norwood on Thursday as the second seated Norwood Lady Pirates, behind Josie Sullivan’s big 22-point night, upended the top seeded Chadwick Lady Cardinals 46-37 to capture this year’s Class 1 District 4 Basketball Championship.
The victory ended a 14-year drought for the Lady Pirates (20-7) who last won a district championship in 2006.
The Pirates, who lost a close 43-39 decision to Chadwick in December, were ready to play as the two teams squared off in Thursday night’s district final.
“We were confident we could beat them tonight,” said Pirate senior forward Dakota Anderson. “There was no way we were going to lose to them again, not in our house.”
Norwood jumped on the Lady Cardinals early to grab a quick 8-0 lead as opening quarter play got underway. It would be a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Lady Pirates led 12-4 at the end of the first period and 18-11 at the half. Leading the way offensively, for Norwood, over the first two quarters of play were Josie Sullivan with eight points and Kaytlynn Drake with six. Paisley Gilbert kept the Cardinals close with nine.
After trading buckets in the third frame Norwood carried a 31-23 lead into the fourth quarter.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
The Cardinals seemed to have found a formula to put points on the board as final period play began and pulled to within five points of the Pirates, 34-29, with 4:03 remaining in the game.
“We had the lead throughout the ball game but Chadwick made a great run on us during the first four minutes of the fourth quarter,” said Norwood senior guard Payton Drake. “But we knew the game would be ours if we could just hold onto the ball.”
“We decided to pull the ball out, slow the game down and look for layups or free throws down the stretch,” said Norwood head coach Shannon Crain. “Chadwick had already committed a lot of fouls so getting an opportunity to score from the free throw line would be in our favor.”
Crain’s strategy worked as the Lady Pirates went on to outscore the Cardinals 12-8 over the final four minutes of play to grab the 46-37 win.
Showing up big for Norwood in the period was senior forward Josie Sullivan who scored eight of the Pirates 15 fourth-quarter points.
“I looked up at the scoreboard at the beginning of the fourth quarter. I didn’t know for sure what was going to happen over the next eight minutes, but I did know that when the game was over I wanted to walk off the floor a district champion,” said Sullivan. “So I knew I had to step up and be the senior I needed to be. The support and encouragement I got from my teammates helped to get me going.”
Sullivan, who led all scorers with 22 points, hit two layups and four free throws in the fourth and deciding quarter.
Also scoring in double digits on the night for Norwood was Kaytlynn Drake with 13.
Tops in the scorebook for Chadwick was Paris Gilbert with 12 points and Paisley Gilbert with 11. All 12 of Paris Gilbert’s points came in the second half.
While offense played a big role in Norwood’s 46-37 upset victory over Chadwick defense was key.
“We threw a little junk on them defensively tonight and it slowed them down. We put our twins, Keyera and Sierra Cornelison, on their top scorer Stevi Jones and Kaytlynn Payton on Abigail Smith. They stayed with them all night and pretty much shut them down,” said Norwood’s coach Crain. “Our thinking was that if we were going to get beat it was going to have to be by someone other than Jones or Smith.”
Chadwick head coach Scott Payne also pointed to Norwood’s defense as the difference in the game.
“We struggled offensively but the Lady Pirates had a lot to do with that. They came out in a man-to-man, something we weren’t expecting,” Payne said. “They held Stevi to just four points tonight and normally she scores about 18. But again you have to give credit to a great defensive effort thrown at us by Norwood.”
Norwood’s Crain said that while it was great getting to watch his kids enjoy the win they were going to have to be ready to turn the page soon.
“Winning this year’s district title was a great feeling for all of us and I’m so proud of all of our kids,” the coach said. “But we’re going to have to start looking ahead to sectionals pretty quick.”
The Lady Pirates will meet South Iron (23-4) in sectional play on March 3 at 6:00 p.m.
It was a difficult night for the Cardinals who watched on as their season came to an abrupt end with the 46-37 loss to Norwood.
But the loss didn’t dampen coach Payne’s appreciation of a group of young ladies that had experienced a great ride during the 2019-20 basketball season.
“We finished the season at 20-6, went undefeated in conference play and won our conference tournament. One of our other goals this year was to win district, but that didn’t happen, we just came up a few points short,” said Payne. “Overall though I’d have to say these kids have had a great year, have nothing to hang their heads about and I’m super proud of them.”
Box Score 1 2 3 4 F
Norwood 12 6 13 15 46
Chadwick 4 7 12 14 37
Leading Scorers:
Norwood: 1. Josie Sullivan- 22/2. Kaytlynn Drake- 13/3. Payton Drake- 5/4. Cassie Chadwell- 5/5. Keyera Cornelison- 1. Free Throws: 19-29-66%
Chadwick: 1. Paris Gilbert- 12/2. Paisley Gilbert- 11/3. Stevi Jones- 4/4. Abigal Smith- 3/5. Desiree Nelson- 2/4. Cora Michael- 2/5. Courtney Grimes- 2/6. Olivia Maggard- 1. Free Throws: 9-18-50%
